Memory cell array latchup prevention

ABSTRACT

A complementary field-effect (CMOS) circuit is provided which includes a current-limiting device arranged along a power-supply bus or a ground bus of the circuit. The current-limiting device is configured to prevent latch up of the CMOS circuit. More specifically, the current-limiting device is configured to maintain a junction of the parasitic pnpn diode structure as reverse-biased. A method is also provided which includes creating a current-voltage plot of a pnpn diode arranged within a first CMOS circuit which is absent of a current-limiting device arranged along a power bus of the circuit. In addition, the method includes determining a holding current level from the current-voltage plot and sizing a current-limiting device to place along a power bus of a second CMOS circuit comprising similar design specifications as the first CMOS circuit such that the current through the second CMOS circuit does not exceed the holding current level.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to integrated circuits and, more specifically,complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) memory circuits that areconfigured to be free or immune from latch up.

2. Description of the Related Art

The following descriptions and examples are given as backgroundinformation only.

Integrated circuit semiconductor devices using CMOS technologyinherently contain parasitic bipolar pnp and npn transistors in thestructure of p-channel metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS) and n-channelmetal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) devices. For example, in a structure ofa n-well CMOS circuit, a parasitic pnp bipolar transistor may be formedwhen a source/drain region of a PMOS device acts as an emitter, then-well of the PMOS device acts as a base, and a p-type doped substrateacts as the collector. In addition, a parasitic npn bipolar transistormay be formed when a source/drain region of the NMOS device acts as anemitter, a substrate tie of the NMOS device acts as a base, and then-well of the PMOS device acts as the collector. Since the parasiticbipolar transistors are connected through the n-well of the PMOS device(serving as the collector of the npn bipolar transistor and the base ofthe pnp bipolar transistor) and through p-type doped substrate (servingas the collector of the pnp bipolar transistor and the base of the npnbipolar transistor), the transistors interact electrically to form apnpn diode structure equating to a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR).

A disadvantage of forming an SCR within a CMOS circuit is that it allowsa low-resistance path between power supply buses to form, which in turnallows high amounts of current to flow through the circuit. In somecases, the current through the circuit can be amplified to a level atwhich one or more memory cells are in a state where they cannot beswitched. In particular, internal voltages across the anode and cathodeof an SCR which exceed a breakover or trigger voltage can causejunctions within the bipolar transistors of the circuit to becomeforward-biased. As a result, the SCR enters into a low impedance statewith the possibility of a resultant high current. The low impedancestate can be maintained indefinitely if a minimum holding current can besupplied to the circuit. As a consequence, the memory cells of thecircuit may be restricted from switching and may lose their data. TheSCR, in such a state, is commonly referred to as being latched up and,thus, the phenomenon of inducing a circuit into such a state is commonlyreferred to as “latch up.”

As device dimensions continue to decrease and device density increases,the latch up phenomenon becomes more prevalent. In particular, thecloser NMOS and PMOS devices are fabricated relative to each other, thebreakover voltage needed to forward-bias junctions within pnpn diodestructures created therefrom as well as the minimum holding currentneeded to maintain a circuit in such a state decrease. As such, varioustechniques for controlling latch up in CMOS circuits have been proposedand are used in the microelectronics fabrication industry. For example,one method for controlling latch up in CMOS circuits involvesincorporating well and/or substrate taps within a circuit torespectively reduce well and substrate resistances. In order to realizethe benefit of such a technique, the taps are generally fabricatedwithin each cell of a memory array. As a consequence, cell size isundesirably increased and the objective to increase memory cell densityis hindered. In addition, the fabrication of contacts is sensitive toprocessing parameters of the circuit, such as mask alignment, forexample.

Another technique used in the microelectronics industry for controllinglatch up in CMOS circuits includes the formation of low resistance wellregions having a varied doping profile within the substrate of thecircuit. Such a technique is used to reduce the current-gain product ofthe parasitic bipolar transistors of the CMOS circuit and retardminority carrier injection into active junctions of the device. Theformation of low resistance well regions, however, induces higherjunction capacitance, which may undesirably increase the thresholdvoltage at which devices operate. Higher threshold voltages lead todecreased circuit speeds, which is contrary to the industry objective toincrease processing speeds within circuits. Moreover, the formation oflow resistance well regions does not completely eliminate the formationof latch up. In addition, well region fabrication is sensitive toprocessing parameters of the circuit, such as mask alignment andprocessing temperatures, for example. In particular, the placement ofwell regions within a circuit is directly dependent on the correctalignment of masks with the substrate. Misplacement of well regions mayadversely affect the functionality of the device and, in some cases,cause the device to malfunction. In addition, the diffusion of dopantsboth vertically and horizontally can vary with the temperature,affecting the efficacy of low resistance wells. Furthermore, theactivation of dopants to form well regions involves a thermal process,which is an additional restraint for the overall thermal budget of thedevice.

It would, therefore, be advantageous to develop other manners in whichto prevent latch up in CMOS circuits. In particular, it would bebeneficial to develop techniques for preventing latch up which do notincrease memory cell size, are less sensitive to process variations anddo not affect the functionality of the CMOS circuits.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The problems outlined above may be in large part addressed by a CMOScircuit having one or more current-limiting devices arranged along apower-supply bus and/or a ground bus of the circuit which are configuredto prevent latch up within the circuit. More specifically, the one ormore current-limiting devices may be configured to maintain a junctionof a parasitic pnpn diode structure within the circuit as reverse-biasedsuch that latch up within the circuit may be prevented. Morespecifically, the one or more current-limiting devices may be configuredto prevent end junctions of a parasitic pnpn diode structure fromachieving forward biases sufficient or strong enough to forward bias amiddle junction of the parasitic pnpn diode structure. A currentlimiting device arranged along the power-supply bus may include aresistor or a p-channel field-effect transistor pass gate.Alternatively, a current limiting device arranged along the ground busmay include a resistor or an n-channel field-effect transistor passgate. In either case, the one or more current-limiting devices may bespecifically configured to prevent latch up caused by high energyradiation on the circuit. In particular, one or more current-limitingdevices may be configured to prevent latch up caused by alpha particlesand/or cosmic rays. In addition or alternatively, the one or morecurrent-limiting devices may be configured to prevent latch up caused bycurrent injecting defects within the circuit. Furthermore, the one ormore current-limiting devices may be configured to eliminate singleevent latch up caused by excessive substrate current to the CMOScircuit.

In some cases, one or more current-limiting devices may be arrangedalong a segment of the power-supply bus that is configured to supplypower to all memory cells within the array. In addition oralternatively, one or more current-limiting devices may be arrangedalong a segment of the power-supply bus configured to provide power to asubset of the memory cells. For example, one or more current-limitingdevices may be arranged along a segment of the power-supply busconfigured to provide power to a single column or row of the memorycells. In other embodiments, one or more current-limiting devices may bearranged along a segment of the power-supply bus configured to providepower to a block of the memory cells arranged within a plurality ofcolumns and a plurality of rows of the memory cells. In yet other cases,one or more current-limiting devices may be arranged along a portion ofa ground bus of the circuit as noted above.

A method for sizing one or more current-limiting devices to preventlatch up within a CMOS circuit is also contemplated herein. Inparticular, a method is provided which includes creating acurrent-voltage (I-V) plot of a pnpn diode structure arranged within afirst CMOS circuit which does not include a current-limiting devicearranged along a power bus of the circuit. The method further includesdetermining a holding current level from the I-V plot and sizing acurrent-limiting device which is to be placed along a power-supply orground bus of a second CMOS circuit having similar design specificationsas the first CMOS circuit. In particular, the method may include sizingthe current-limiting device such that the current through the secondCMOS circuit does not exceed the holding current level. In someembodiments, the method may further include determining a triggercurrent level from the I-V plot of the pnpn diode structure and sizingthe current-limiting device to be placed along the power bus of thesecond CMOS circuit such that the current through the second CMOScircuit does not exceed the trigger current level. As such, the step ofsizing may include selecting a current limiting device having acurrent-voltage characteristic which intersects the current-voltage plotof the pnpn diode at a level below the holding current level and, insome embodiments, at a level lower than the trigger current.

There may be several advantages for providing the CMOS circuit andmethod described herein. In particular, a CMOS circuit may be fabricatedwhich is immune or free from latch up. As a result, the reliability ofCMOS circuits may be improved. In addition, the inclusion of one or morecurrent-limiting devices along the power-supply bus of a CMOS circuitdoes not affect write and read operations of the circuit and, therefore,circuit simulation models of circuits do not have change with theincorporation of current-limiting devices. Moreover, the formation ofcurrent-limiting devices is not significantly sensitive to fabricationsvariations. Consequently, incorporating current-limiting devices withina CMOS circuit does not cause a significant variance in thefunctionality of the device. Another advantage of the inclusion of oneor more current-limiting devices with a CMOS circuit is that single evenlatch up (SEL) caused by excessive substrate current may be completelyeliminated, thereby improving the reliability of the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the following detailed description and upon reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 a depicts an exemplary circuit diagram of a portion of a CMOScircuit having a resistor formed along a power-supply bus of thecircuit;

FIG. 1 b depicts an exemplary circuit diagram of a portion of a CMOScircuit having a p-channel resistor pass gate formed along apower-supply bus of the circuit;

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary circuit diagram of a portion of a CMOScircuit having one or more current-limiting devices formed along aground bus of the circuit;

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary circuit diagram of a portion of a CMOScircuit having one or more current-limiting devices formed along both apower-supply bus and a ground bus of the circuit;

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary structure of a pnpn diode structure;

FIG. 5 depicts a flow chart of a method for sizing a current-limitingdevice within a CMOS circuit to prevent latch up within the circuit;

FIG. 6 a depicts a graph including I-V plots of a pnpn diode structureand a resistor; and

FIG. 6 b depicts a graph including I-V plots of a pnpn diode structureand a pass gate transistor.

While the invention may include various modifications and alternativeforms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in thedrawings and will herein be described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that the drawings and detailed description theretoare not intended to limit the invention to the particular formdisclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning to the drawings, exemplary embodiments of CMOS circuits havingcurrent limiting devices arranged along power-supply buses and/or groundbuses are illustrated. In particular, FIG. 1 a illustrates resistorR_(L) formed along power-supply bus 12 of CMOS circuit 10. FIG. 1 billustrates p-channel pass gate transistor 26 formed along power-supplybus 22 of CMOS circuit 20. CMOS circuit 30 is shown in FIG. 2 havingcurrent-limiting device 36 along ground bus 34 and CMOS circuit 40 shownin FIG. 3 includes current-limiting devices 46 and 48 arranged alongpower-supply bus 42 and ground bus 44, respectively. Each of thecircuits is described in more detail below, particularly in reference tothe arrangement and type of current-limiting devices included therein.In addition to the current-limiting devices, the CMOS circuits depictedin FIGS. 1 a-3 include parasitic resistances Rw and Rs, respectivelyreferring to parasitic resistances of the well regions and substrateused to form complementary sets of PMOS and NMOS transistors within thecircuits.

As shown in FIGS. 1 a-3, the CMOS circuits include parasitic bipolartransistors PNP and NPN. The parasitic bipolar transistors are theresult of multiple diffusions used to fabricate complementary sets ofPMOS transistors and NMOS transistors within the circuits. As notedabove, a parasitic PNP bipolar transistor may be formed within an n-wellCMOS circuit when a source/drain region of a p-channel transistor actsas an emitter, the n-well of the PMOS transistor acts as a base, and ap-type doped substrate acts as the collector. In addition, a parasiticNPN bipolar transistor may be formed within an n-well CMOS circuit whena source/drain region of the n-channel transistor acts as an emitter, asubstrate tie of the n-channel transistor acts as a base, and the n-wellof the p-channel transistor acts as the collector. The n-type and p-typeregions of parasitic bipolar transistors differ slightly for a p-wellCMOS circuit in that the p-well acts as a collector of the PNPtransistor and the base of the NPN transistor. The n-doped substrate insuch a circuit acts as a collector for the NPN transistor and a base forthe PNP transistor. As in the n-well CMOS circuit, the source and drainregions of each of the PMOS and NMOS devices respectively serve as theemitters for the PNP and NPN transistors.

Although not shown, the circuit of the PNP and NPN bipolar transistorand resistances Rw and Rs is one of a plurality of devices within CMOScircuits 10, 20, 30 and 40 representing a memory cell array between highvoltage source Vcc and low voltage source Vss. Consequently, thecurrent-limiting devices included within circuits 10, 20, 30 and 40 maybe used to restrict current through entire memory arrays, rather thanjust the circuit PNP and NPN bipolar transistor and resistances Rw andRs shown in FIGS. 1 a-3. In other embodiments, however, thecurrent-limiting devices may be arranged to restrict current throughonly a subset of memory cells within an array, such as a column or a rowof an array or a block of memory cells residing within a plurality ofcolumns and rows.

A pnpn diode structure formed from merged regions of parasitic bipolartransistors is illustrated in FIG. 4. Such a structure may be formedwithin each of CMOS circuits 10, 20, 30 and 40, since the base andcollector regions of the PNP and NPN bipolar transistors are connected.The share regions are referenced in FIG. 4 as n₁ and p₂. In an effort tofurther explain the phenomenon of latch up, the pnpn diode structureillustrated in FIG. 4 is discussed in conjunction with FIGS. 6 a and 6b, which illustrate exemplary current-voltage (I-V) plots of pnpn diodestructures. The distinction between FIGS. 6 a and 6 b is the inclusionof I-V characteristics for a resistor and a p-channel pass gatetransistor, respectively. The use of such I-V characteristics with theI-V plot of a pnpn diode structure is explained in more detail below inreference to FIG. 5. A description of the I-V characteristic of a pnpndiode structure without a description of I-V characteristics for aresistor and a p-channel pass gate transistor, however, is discussed incombination with FIG. 4 to explain its relation to latch up within aCMOS circuit.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pnpn diode structure is interposed between ananode and cathode, which are referenced as voltage sources Vcc and Vssin FIGS. 1 a-3. In addition, three junctions, J₁, J₂, and J₃, are formedin the pnpn diode structure shown in FIG. 4. When there is very littlecurrent flow through the pnpn diode structure, the device is referencedas being in an “off,” “forward-blocking,” or “high-impedance” state. Insuch a state, J₁ and J₃ junctions are weakly forward-biased and junctionJ₂ is weakly reversed-biased. The I-V characteristic in such a state isrepresented in the first portion of the pnpn diode I-V plot shown inFIGS. 6 a and 6 b. In particular, the portion of the plot showingcurrent steadily increasing from zero current with increasing voltagerepresents the “off” state of the device.

The reference of “weakly” biased junctions may generally refer tojunctions having a bias which is less than the built-in voltage orpotential of the junction. The reference of a “strong” biased junction,however, may conversely refer to a junction which is greater than thebuilt-in voltage or potential of the junction. For example, in someapplications, weakly forward biased junctions may refer to junctionswhich are biased at voltages less than approximately 0.7 V and stronglyforward biased junctions may refer to junctions which are biased atvoltages greater than approximately 0.7 V. The voltage level fordistinguishing weak and strong forward biased junctions, however, may besmaller or larger, depending on the design specifications of the devicescomprising the junction. In addition, the voltage level distinguishingweak and strong reversed biased junctions may be different than thosefor forward bias junctions. In some cases, a strongly biased junctionmay be strong enough to influence the biasing of an adjacent weaklybiased junction, such as in a case when two end junctions of a pnpndiode structure are forward biased enough to forward bias a middlejunction of the diode structure as described in more detail below.

As shown in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b, the voltage starts to decrease when theportion of the I-V characteristic reaches a point referred to as thetriggering point. The triggering point is denoted in FIGS. 6 a and 6 bas V_(trig) and I_(trig), referring to voltage and current triggeringpoints, respectively. At such a point, junctions J1 and J3 are stronglyforward biased due to a regenerative bipolar action wherein part of thenpn collector current becomes the pnp base current which is furtheramplified by the pnp bipolar transistor resulting in a higher pnpcollector current. A part of the higher pnp collector current becomesthe npn base current which in turn is amplified by the npn bipolartransistor resulting in a higher npn collector current. The iterativeincrease in pnp and npn collector current inherently increases theforward biasing of the junctions.

After the triggering point, the device exhibits a differential negativeresistance (i.e., the voltage sharply decreases as the current slightlyincreases). During such a portion of the I-V characteristic, the deviceswitches from an “off” state to an “on” state, which is also referred toas a “low-impedance” or “forward conducting” state. In addition,junction J2 is changed from reverse-biased to forward-biased sinceregion p2 in FIG. 4 has a higher potential than region n1. Once the pnpndiode structure is fully transitioned to the “on” state, the currentsharply increases and the voltage slightly increases. The point in theI-V plot at which such a change occurs is referenced as the holdinglevel and is denoted in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b as I_(hold) and V_(hold),referring to the current and voltage levels, respectively. If thecircuit is able to supply current above the holding level, the devicewill remain latched in such a state even if the source of the triggercurrent is removed. Latch up within a CMOS circuit can be caused by avariety of mechanisms, including but not limited to terminal overvoltagestress, transient displacement currents, and ionizing radiation, such asneutron or alpha radiation. The circuits described herein are configuredto reduce or eliminate such causes of latch up. In particular, thecircuits described herein include a current-limiting device along atleast one of the power-supply bus and ground bus of the circuit suchthat a junction of the pnpn diode structure therein may be maintained asreverse-biased.

Returning to FIGS. 1 a-3, exemplary embodiments of CMOS circuits withcurrent-limiting devices arranged along the power-supply bus or groundbus of the circuits are illustrated. In particular, FIGS. 1 a and 1 billustrate embodiments in which a current-limiting device is arrangedalong a power-supply bus of a CMOS circuit. FIG. 1 a illustratesresistor R_(L) formed along power-supply bus 12 of CMOS circuit 10 andFIG. 1 b illustrates p-channel pass gate transistor 26 formed alongpower-supply bus 22 of CMOS circuit 20. A “pass gate transistor,” asused herein, may generally refer to a transistor having one or both ofits source and drain terminals not directly coupled to a power supply ofthe circuit. Alternatively stated, a pass gate transistor may refer to atransistor having only one or none of its source and drain terminalsdirectly coupled to a power supply of the circuit. In this manner, apass gate transistor may generally refer to a transistor having at leastone of its source and drain terminals that never reaches the potentialof the power supply to which it is indirectly coupled. For example,p-channel pass gate transistor 26 in circuit 20 has one node tieddirectly to voltage source Vcc and another node not directly tied tovoltage source Vss. Alternatively, an n-channel pass gate transistorarranged along a ground bus of a circuit, as described in reference toFIGS. 2 and 3 below, may be have a node tied directly to voltage sourceVss and another node not directly tied to voltage source Vcc. In yetother cases, the p-channel and n-channel pass gate transistors of thecircuits described herein may not have either of their source and drainnodes directly coupled to voltage sources Vcc or Vss.

The resistor and p-channel pass gate transistor included in circuits 10and 20, respectively, may serve to bleed current from power-supply buses12 and 22 such that the amount of current drawn through the respectivecircuits is reduced to a level below a holding current level of a pnpndiode structure in the circuits. In some embodiments, the circuitsdescribed herein may include more than on current-limiting device on apower-supply bus and/or a ground bus of the circuit. As such, in someembodiments, CMOS circuit 10 may include multiple resistors arrangedalong power-supply bus 12. In addition, CMOS circuit 20 may includemultiple p-channel pass gate transistors arranged along power-supply bus22 in some cases. In yet other embodiments, CMOS circuits 10 and/or 20may include a combination of p-channel pass gate transistors andresistors arranged along their power-supply buses.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate alternative embodiments in which CMOS circuitsinclude current-limiting devices along ground buses of the circuits. Inparticular, FIG. 2 illustrates CMOS circuit 30 having current-limitingdevice 36 arranged along ground bus 34. In such an embodiment,power-supply 32 of CMOS circuit 30 may be absent of a current limitingdevice. In other embodiments, however, the circuit described herein mayinclude current-limiting devices along both the power-supply and groundbuses of the circuit. For example, FIG. 3 illustrates CMOS circuit 40including current-limiting devices 46 and 48 arranged along power-supplybus 42 and ground bus 44, respectively. Current-limiting devices 36, 46,and 48 in FIGS. 2 and 3 are shown as blocks to indicate that any type,number, or combination of current-limiting devices may be arranged onthe buses of the circuits. In particular, current-limiting devices 36and 48 in FIGS. 2 and 3 may include one or more resistors and/or one ormore n-channel pass gate transistors, and current limiting device 46 mayinclude one or more resistors and/or one or more p-channel pass gatetransistors.

In general, the CMOS circuits described in reference to FIGS. 1 a-3 mayhave current-limiting devices arranged along any portion of theirpower-supply buses and/or ground buses. For example, one or morecurrent-limiting devices may be arranged along a portion of apower-supply bus which is configured to supply power to all deviceswithin the circuit. More specifically, one or more current-limitingdevices may be arranged along a portion of a power-supply bus close tohigh voltage source Vcc which is configured to supply power to allmemory cells within a memory array of the circuit. In other embodiments,one or more current-limiting devices may be additionally oralternatively arranged along a portion of the power-supply bus whichsupplies current to a subset of memory cells within a circuit. Forexample, one or more of the current-limiting devices may be arrangedalong a portion of the power supply bus which supplies current to asingle column or row of a memory array of CMOS transistors. In additionor alternatively, one or more current-limiting devices may be arrangedalong portions of the power-supply bus configured to supply current to ablock of memory cells residing in a plurality of columns and rows. Theportions of the power-supply bus supplying power to subsets of memorycells may be portions partitioned from the portion of the power-supplybus near high voltage source Vcc supplying current to all devices withinthe circuit.

One advantage of arranging a current-limiting device along a portion ofthe power supply bus which supplies current to one or two columns and/orrows of a memory array is that the reliability degradation of redundancyrepaired memory arrays is reduced. Redundancy within a memory arrayinvolves the creation of spare rows and columns which can be used assubstitutes for production rows and columns, which are found to bedefective. Additional circuitry is also provided within a memory arrayto control the physical encoding that enables the substitution of aspare column or row for a defective column or row. The concept of rowredundancy repair involves replacing bad bit lines or word lines withgood bit line or word lines, respectively. The column or row to berepaired is not physically replaced, but rather it is logicallyreplaced. In particular, whenever a column or row address is called, theaddress is compared to the addresses of known bad column or rows. If theaddress comparison produces a match, then a replacement bit line or wordline is fired in place of the defect bit line or word line.

As noted above, methods for preventing latch up in conventional memoryarray circuits is to incorporate well regions or contacts within eachmemory cell of the memory array. Since the fabrication of well regionsand contacts are process sensitive, the likelihood of latch up within anarray varies between memory cells. As a result, a reliability riskexists when repairing memory arrays through redundancy. The circuitsdescribed herein preferably eliminate the likelihood of latch up withinmemory cells or at least reduce the likelihood of latch up to besubstantially similar throughout an array. As a result, reliabilitydegradation of redundancy repaired memory cells will be reduced.Embodiments having a current-limiting device for every one or twocolumns or rows of the array, including the spare columns and rows, mayparticularly reduce reliability degradation of redundancy repairedmemory cells.

Ground bus lines are often configured in a grid pattern in order toserve as the negative power source with which to induce current througha plurality of devices within a circuit. Consequently, one or morecurrent-limiting devices may be arranged along any portion of a groundbus and have substantially the same impact on preventing latch up withinthe circuit than if the current-limiting devices were arranged alonganother portion of the ground bus. In embodiments in which a ground lineis not arranged in a grid pattern, however, the arrangement ofcurrent-limiting devices along the ground line may be specific torestricting current through a subset of devices within the circuit insome cases. In any case, one or more current-limiting devices may beadditionally or alternatively arranged along a portion of the groundline close to low voltage source Vss such that current is restrictedthrough all devices within the circuit.

As noted above, the circuits described herein may include one or morecurrent-limiting devices. In particular, the circuits may include one ormore current limiting devices arranged along the same portion of apower-supply bus or ground bus. In other embodiments, the circuit mayinclude one or more current limiting devices arranged along a pluralityof different portions of a power-supply bus and/or ground bus. Inaddition, in embodiments in which a plurality of current-limitingdevices are arranged along a power-supply bus and/or ground bus of acircuit, the current-limiting devices included may be similarly ordifferently sized. In particular, the current-limiting devices may beconfigured to restrict similar amounts of current or different amountsof current. In some cases, the number, size and placement ofcurrent-limiting devices may be optimized for different portions of acircuit.

As noted above, in addition to showing I-V characteristics of a pnpndiode structure, FIGS. 6 a and 6 b illustrate I-V characteristics of aresistor and a pass gate transistor, respectively. Such lines may beused to size a current-limiting device such that latch up may beprevented in a circuit. Alternatively stated, correlating I-Vcharacteristics of a pnpn diode structure and a resistor and/or passgate transistor may allow a circuit to be designed with acurrent-limiting device sufficient to maintain a junction of the pnpndiode structure as reversed-biased. In this manner, a current-limitingdevice may be referred to as being “configured” to prevent latch upwithin a memory cell. A flowchart of a method outlining such a designprocess is illustrated in FIG. 5 and is discussed in conjunction withFIGS. 6 a and 6 b. As shown in FIG. 5, the method may include block 50in which an I-V plot of a pnpn diode structure arranged within a CMOScircuit which is absent of a current-limiting device arranged along apower bus of the circuit is created. Although I-V plots of pnpn diodestructures may vary slightly depending on the design characteristics ofthe device in which they are arranged, the basic shape and points ofinterests, such as the triggering point and holding points, remainsubstantially the same. As such, the I-V characteristics of a pnpn diodestructure discussed above relative to FIGS. 6 a and 6 b may correlate tothe I-V plot referenced in block 50. The formation of the I-V plotreferenced in block 50 may preferably be obtained by a simulationprogram, but may alternatively be obtained by manual means.

As shown in FIG. 5, the method may continue to block 52 to determine aholding current level of the pnpn diode structure from the I-V plotcreated in block 50. As noted above, the holding current level may referto the level of current which is sufficient to keep a circuit latchedeven after a triggering current is removed. Such a level is referred toas I_(hold) in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b. The method continues in FIG. 5 toblock 54 in which a current-limiting device to be placed along a powerbus of a second CMOS circuit having similar design specifications as theCMOS circuit used to create the I-V plot referenced in block 50 is sizedsuch that the current through the second CMOS circuit does not exceedthe holding current level of a pnpn diode structure within the circuit.Such a step may include selecting a current-limiting device having anI-V characteristic which intersects the I-V plot of the pnpn diodestructure at a level below the holding current level. The selection maybe conducted by plotting the I-V characteristic of an exemplarycurrent-limiting device to determine if the line intersects thecurrent-voltage plot of the pnpn diode structure at a level below theholding current level. Such plotting may be conducted using a simulationprogram or may be done manually. In embodiments in which multiplecurrent-limiting devices are arranged along power bus of a CMOS device,an I-V characteristic which is representative of the combination ofcurrent-limiting devices may be plotted along with the I-Vcharacteristic of the pnpn diode structure. In this manner, thecurrent-limiting devices may be sized such that an I-V characteristic ofa combination of the devices intersect the current-voltage plot of thepnpn diode structure at a level below the holding current level.

In some cases, the method may include sizing the current-limiting deviceto be placed along the power bus of the second CMOS circuit such thatthe current through the second CMOS circuit does not exceed the triggercurrent level of the I-V plot of the pnpn diode structure. Such a stepmay include selecting a current-limiting device having an I-Vcharacteristic which intersects the I-V plot of the pnpn diode structureat a level below the trigger current level as shown in FIGS. 6 a and 6b. As with selecting a current-limiting device having an I-Vcharacteristic which intersects the I-V plot of the pnpn diode structureat a level below the holding current level, the selection of acurrent-limiting having an I-V characteristic which intersects the I-Vplot of the pnpn diode structure at a level below the trigger currentlevel may include sizing a single current-limiting device or multiplecurrent-limiting devices.

It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure that this invention is believed to provide CMOS circuitwhich is configured to prevent latch up without increasing memory cellsize. Further modifications and alternative embodiments of variousaspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art inview of this description. For example, the circuit and method describedherein may be incorporated into any memory device comprising CMOStransistors. In addition, the circuits described herein may include anyother methods for reducing and/or eliminating latch-up with memorycells. In particular, the circuits described herein may additionallyinclude well regions and/or substrate and well contacts to prevent thephenomenon of latch up within memory cells. It is intended that thefollowing claims be interpreted to embrace all such modifications andchanges and, accordingly, the specification and drawings are to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

1. A microelectronics circuit comprising: a set of complementaryfield-effect (CMOS) transistors; a power-supply bus coupled to the setof CMOS transistors; and a current-limiting device arranged along thepower-supply bus, wherein the current-limiting device is configured toprevent latch up of the CMOS transistors.
 2. The microelectronicscircuit of claim 1, wherein the current-limiting device is a resistor.3. The microelectronics circuit of claim 1, wherein the current-limitingdevice is a p-channel field-effect transistor pass gate.
 4. Themicroelectronics circuit of claim 1, wherein the set of complementaryfield-effect (CMOS) transistors are arranged within an array of memorycells, and wherein the current-limiting device is arranged along asegment of the power-supply bus configured to provide power to a subsetof the memory cells.
 5. The microelectronics circuit of claim 4, whereinthe subset of memory cells is a single column or row of the memorycells.
 6. The microelectronics circuit of claim 4, wherein the subset ofmemory cells is a block of the memory cells arranged within a pluralityof columns and a plurality of rows of the memory cells.
 7. Themicroelectronics circuit of claim 1, wherein the current-limiting deviceis configured to limit the current supplied on the power-supply bus to alevel less than a trigger current level of the circuit.
 8. Themicroelectronics circuit of claim 1, further comprising: a ground buscoupled to the set of CMOS transistors; and another current limitingdevice arranged along the ground bus to aid in preventing latch upwithin the CMOS transistors.
 9. The microelectronics circuit of claim 1,wherein the current-limiting device is configured to prevent latch upcaused by high energy radiation including alpha particles and cosmicrays on the circuit.
 10. The microelectronics circuit of claim 1,wherein the current-limiting device is configured to prevent latch upcaused by current injecting defects within the circuit.
 11. Themicroelectronics circuit of claim 1, wherein the current-limiting deviceis configured to eliminate single event latch up of the CMOStransistors.
 12. An integrated circuit comprising: a parasitic pnpndiode structure interposed between a power-supply bus and a ground bus;and a current-limiting device arranged along the ground bus, wherein thecurrent-limiting device is configured to maintain a junction of theparasitic pnpn diode structure as reverse-biased.
 13. The integratedcircuit of claim 12, wherein the current-limiting device is a resistor.14. The integrated circuit of claim 12, wherein the current-limitingdevice is an n-channel field-effect transistor pass gate.
 15. Theintegrated circuit of claim 12, further comprising a resistor arrangedalong the power-supply bus.
 16. The integrated circuit of claim 12,further comprising a p-channel field-effect transistor pass gatearranged along the power-supply bus.
 17. A method, comprising: creatinga current-voltage plot of a pnpn diode arranged within a first CMOScircuit which is absent of a current-limiting device arranged along apower bus of the circuit; determining a holding current level from thecurrent-voltage plot; and sizing a current-limiting device to placealong a power bus of a second CMOS circuit comprising similar designspecifications as the first CMOS circuit such that the current throughthe second CMOS circuit does not exceed the holding current level. 18.The method of claim 17, wherein the step of sizing comprises selecting acurrent limiting device having a current-voltage characteristic whichintersects the current-voltage plot of the pnpn diode at a level belowthe holding current level.
 19. The method of claim 17, furthercomprising: determining a trigger current level from the current-voltageplot; and sizing the current-limiting device to be placed along thepower bus of the second CMOS circuit such that the current through thesecond CMOS circuit does not exceed the trigger current level.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the step of sizing comprises selecting acurrent limiting device have a current-voltage characteristic whichintersects the current-voltage plot of the pnpn diode at a level belowthe trigger current level.